The Guilford boys bowling team’s philosophy when competing has been “stay loose and have fun.”

It paid off last Saturday, as the Vikings won the Lake Zurich Invitational, their fourth tournament title of the season.

The win was a morale booster for Guilford, which was coming off a pair of NIC-10 losses to Harlem and Jefferson to finish second in the conference for a second straight year.

“We certainly know that if we’re loose and having fun, that works for us,” said Guilford coach Brad Sommer, whose team will compete at Saturday’s Hononegah Sectional.

“When we’re thinking too much about things, it’s not good for us.”

“We’ve had a few up and downs because we’ve been taking things too seriously,” Guilford’s Daltin Kafka said. “We needed to remember that it’s a game and to have fun.”

Sommer said he feels winning at Lake Zurich has put the team back on track and ready for a deep postseason run.

The Vikings finished first in the state in 2011 and want to duplicate that feat. They will face a talented field that includes familiar NIC-10 foes such as conference champ Harlem, Jefferson, Freeport and Hononegah, which placed third at state last year.

“There are so many good teams in the area and great coaching among these programs,” Sommer said. “The competition will be good for sure. Any one of the two qualifying teams will represent us well. We came together and won at Lake Zurich in convincing fashion. The boys were loose and we hope to continue that in the sectional.”

Kafka, Trustin Givens and Alex Sommer lead the team, along with seniors Nick Polhill and Matt Anderson.

Sommer tops the team with a 220 average, placing him third in the NIC-10.

“Getting off the Middle-of-the-Road pattern (sports shot) has helped a lot, but I’ve been working a lot harder this year on my approach to taking my shots,” he said. “Whatever helps out the team is a plus for me more so than individually.”

Rounding out the team are James Ekstrom Jr,, Sam Dobel and Thomas Rotello.